Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-07-18

International press freedom organization Reporters Without Borders has opened its first

Reporters Without Borders secretary general Chrisophe Deloire (right) at a press conference in Taipei Tuesday. (CNA)

Asian office in Taipei.

At a press conference held Tuesday to mark the office’s opening, Reporters Without Borders secretary general Christophe Deloire explained why the organization chose to open an office in Taipei. He said Taiwan has a geographically central location and also leads the organization’s Asian press freedom rankings.

Deloire also condemned Beijing’s treatment of Chinese dissident and Nobel peace laureate Liu Xiaobo, who died Thursday at the age of 61. Liu had been serving an 11-year prison sentence for calling for an end to one-party rule in China. He had been granted medical parole after being diagnosed with late-stage liver cancer. Deloire said Liu’s death constituted murder, as he had not been given appropriate medical attention.  [FULL  STORY]